Scandinavia: unfriendliness raises the alarm for travelers!

In the latest “Expat Insider” report 2024, Kuwait was classified as the most unfriendly country for expats. According to the results that the survey of internations to friendliness of the locals examine, European nations also show one of the last positions. The survey takes into account over 170 countries and has been carried out annually since 2014, with around 12,000 people living abroad.

The other unfriendly countries include Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Qatar, China, Finland and the Czech Republic. Norway, Finland and Sweden rank particularly badly in hospitality, which is partly attributed to adverse climatic conditions and long dark winter. Residents of metropolises such as Stockholm and Oslo are often perceived as unfriendly. Around 50% of the survey participants express this.

Germany and the neighboring countries

Germany also has a bad reputation in terms of welcome culture; Here 51% of the respondents feel the unfriendliness of the Germans to get used to it. Cities like Munich, Hamburg and Berlin are considered to be unfriendly behavior. Austria receives similar negative ratings because 41% of the respondents perceive the Austrians as unfriendly towards foreigners. Switzerland, in turn, is described as distant despite its tolerance towards tourists.

The survey refers to various aspects of life, including the friendliness of the locals, adaptation to the culture and opportunities to find new friends. The survey included a total of 12,065 expats from 172 countries and rated 56 different factors that were divided into five main indices.

In contrast, the results show that Central and South America are considered hospitable, with Costa Rica as the friendliest country, followed by Mexico and Brazil. Egypt and Oman are the two Arab countries in the list of the friendliest countries.

Overall, the report shows that the rankings vary greatly and many European countries can be challenging for expatriates, while other regions are perceived as inviting, as in the reports of Welt and West-Ost-media

Details
Ort	Kuwait, Kuwait
Quellen	www.welt.de visitworld.today